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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stock · bulb · clip · cold · hide · last · saw · ball

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. clip — a video
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. stock — goods
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bulb — for light
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. last — finally
  13. saw — the tool
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. last — to go on
  17. bulb — for light
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. ball — a great time
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. last — final
  24. saw — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com